


All Bets Are On

by eddiewrites307



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Bets & Wagers, Demon AU, Demon Merlin (Merlin), Hell, Human Arthur, Humor, M/M, Modern AU, Poor Arthur, poor boy cant get a second to think straight, this is actually humor i promise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:42:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25649728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eddiewrites307/pseuds/eddiewrites307
Summary: Arthur really didn't have the energy to deal with the portal that appeared in his room, nor the demon that ended up coming through it, but it's hard to ignore those big blue eyes pleading for Arthur to help him win a bet.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 147





	All Bets Are On

Humans didn’t often believe in the supernatural. There’s too much science debunking angels and demons and the like, so why should humanity believe? Do you believe in the Tooth Fairy, or the Easter Bunny? Or are you more inclined to believe in gravity?   


I mean, really. All that stuff is simply nonsense.

~

It was six in the evening, and Arthur Pendragon had just finished an essay he was writing for an online college course. The essay was ten pages, with full citations, on a subject that the guy knew practically nothing about. The process was long, and tedious, but it was done now, thank the gods.

Arthur sighed to himself as he sent the paper to his professor, running a hand through his blonde hair and slumping back onto his bed. His eyes started to slide shut, even as he thought about how it wasn’t even dark yet, he shouldn’t be this tired.

Then, his eyes snapped back open, staring in blank horror at the foot of his bed.

Something was... _ glowing _ , steadily getting larger at the foot of his bed. The thing was round, shooting off sparks, and not yet big enough to tell what it was. Arthur slowly climbed off his bed, putting some distance between himself and whatever the  _ fuck _ that was. He was making his way towards the door when suddenly the thing made a high-pitched screeching noise, expanding much more rapidly than before, and a pale hand with blackened fingertips clawed its way from the opening.

Arthur let out an audible gasp, pressing himself into the wall as the portal -- good lord, it was a  _ portal _ \-- widened further and the hand came further out, shortly followed by an arm wrapped in dark fabric, before a full, lanky body tumbled from the portal and landed heavily on the ground of Arthur’s bedroom.

The newcomer squawked as it’s -- his? -- face mashed into the carpet, and he pushed himself up, his eyes moving to focus on Arthur, who froze.

_ Oh _ , what eyes.

His eyes were wide in his pale face, an enthralling shade of blue that seemed to pierce right through Arthur from where he stood, surrounded by coal-black lashes that fanned over his high cheekbones. The rest of his face was just as lovely, youthful and angular, with full lips that were quirked into a smile, framed by soft-looking black hair.

Arthur stared for a moment, stunned silent by whatever just happened, before his thoughts suddenly fought to recollect themselves and he shook his head, standing up straight and summoning whatever courage he had left. “Who the hell are you?” He demanded, inwardly cheering when his voice didn’t shake.

The man -- was he a man? -- only smiled wider, looking like an excited child. “You’ll do perfectly,” he gushed, “just perfectly. You’re going to help me settle a bet.”   


Arthur barely had time to register what was said before the man was lunging at him, and it was only carefully honed reflexes that allowed Arthur to sidestep him so efficiently. “Who the hell are you?” He repeated, firmer, as the man turned towards him once more.

“Don’t worry about who I am, I’m just a demon,” the man said dismissively. “Now come here, please, I need to drag you to Hell with me.” He gestured impatiently towards the portal that was still spitting sparks everywhere.

Arthur twitched, and a scoff escaped his lips before he could stop himself. “A demon?” He asked incredulously. “You realize demons aren’t a real thing, right? They’re just another creature made up to scare children into behaving.”   


The man who claimed to be a demon blinked, before frowning and crossing his arms over his thin chest. “Well, that’s rude,” he muttered. Then, louder, “I assure you, I’m real. In the portal with you, now.”   


“Fat chance!” Arthur exclaimed. “I don’t know you, and I don’t know what the hell that thing is! Why would I listen to you?”   


“Fair point,” the man concluded after a brief pause. “You have no reason to trust me.” He locked eyes with Arthur, and blue flashed to a bright, ethereal gold, and his voice dropped to something gravelly and unnaturally deep. “However, you should believe me. There is more to life than you assume, Arthur Pendragon. There are things much more powerful than you.”

Arthur couldn’t look away from those eyes, a chill going down his spine. Everything told him to run, but his feet were firmly rooted to the floor, not allowing his escape. “Holy shit,” he breathed, and the man --  _ demon  _ \-- in front of him untensed, eyes going back to blue and lips smiling once more.

“I’m glad you believe me,” he said gently. “I hate pulling the power card, it feels really rude.”   


“What do you want from me?” Arthur’s voice didn’t seem to want to go above a whisper.

“Don’t be a clotpole, I already told you what I want.” The demon rolled his eyes, grabbing Arthur’s arm and tugging. “I need help settling a bet, now hurry your arse up.”

“What bet?” Arthur asked, letting himself be pulled towards the portal, unable and pretty unwilling to put up a fight.

The demon grinned at him, boyish and sharp all at the same time. “Whether or not a human can enter into Hell without going entirely mad, of course.” And with that, he grabbed Arthur’s shoulder, and heaved him through the portal with inhuman strength before he could protest.

~

When Arthur awoke, it would to the demon’s big blue eyes staring into his. He let out an admittedly unmanly shriek, scrambling backwards, away from that amused face.

“Well, I gotta admit, I didn’t expect you to pass out like that,” the demon admitted, sitting cross legged on the ground. “That was a little concerning. But hey! You lived, and I’m pretty sure your mind didn’t break, so, I won my bet! Twelve damned souls to me!” He laughed, a weirdly bright and chipper sound for a demon. “And hey, Arthur? Welcome to Hell.”   


Welcome to Hell.

_ Welcome to Hell. _

Arthur looked around, nausea building in his stomach as he took in the spindly towers, the chains on stone walls, the fire that for some reason didn’t seem to be scorching his skin. There was no one around, and he couldn’t tell if that was better or worse.

“I’m going to throw up,” he said firmly, before proceeding to do exactly that.

The demon was behind him in an instant, cooing and stroking his back. “Alright, get it out, you’re ok.” He kept up a steady stream of this nonsense until Arthur was able to stop retching, wiping his mouth on his hand and rocking back on his heels.

“You actually brought me to Hell,” he said weakly, and the demon nodded.

“This bet was important to me,” he explained. “I’ve always had more faith in human durability than Will has, so proving it was a matter of pride, you see? And look! You’re alive, and more or less sane!”

“This is insanity,” Arthur said weakly. “Absolute insanity.”   


The demon fidgeted with the red scarf around his neck, then shrugged. “I can see why you would think that,” he said thoughtfully. “However, I was born and raised here, so your world is what seems like insanity to me.”   


Arthur gaped at him. 

The demon smiled.

“I want to go home. Now, please,” Arthur said firmly, shakily getting to his feet.

The demon frowned. “Now now, you’re really not well, you should get some rest before you go back through-”   


“I helped you win your bet.” Arthur was steady now, and able to gather some of his usual bravado. “That is what you wanted, yes? So, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get home. Immediately.”   


The demon’s frown deepened, but he obliged, mumbling something under his breath that made his eyes glow that bright gold again. A portal slowly opened up, and the demon led Arthur to it.

“Hopefully this time you won’t vomit, yeah?” He joked, before unceremoniously shoving Arthur through.

~

Arthur fell into his room, thankfully this time without blacking out or vomiting, and looked up to see Morgana, his sister, leaning against his door frame and looking disturbingly unconcerned.

“Morgana!” He gasped out. “You wouldn’t believe what just happened to me.”   


She laughed, crouching down so that Arthur could see the amusement written all over her features. “So, I see you’ve met Merlin.”

**Author's Note:**

> Technically a prompt from writing-prompt-s on tumblr, but I kinda just took it and ran with it


End file.
